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Edwin Díaz’s Los Angeles Dodgers tenure is off to a rough start, as he had an underwhelming seven appearances before undergoing elbow surgery.
However, Díaz is now facing scrutiny for something that goes beyond baseball. The reliever is now at the center of an illegal cockfighting scandal in his native Puerto Rico, along with several other big names in Puerto Rican sports.
The report claims that Díaz has been involved in cockfighting in Puerto Rico for almost a decade, an activity that is considered part of Puerto Rican culture. Here’s the latest on Díaz’s reported role in cockfighting in Puerto Rico.
Edwin Díaz cockfighting link explained
A USA Today report that delved into illegal cockfighting in Puerto Rico found that Edwin Diaz was lined to several of the events. Diaz's picture in a Dodger uniform appeared on two Facebook posts from the cockfighting club Club Gallistico de Puerto Rico promoting the events in early February.
"The Puerto Rico Cockfighting Club invites all enthusiasts to a special match and a grand tribute to one of our island’s greatest sources of pride: A Tribute to the Puerto Rican Star and Cockfighter Edwin 'Sugar' Díaz," one of the posts said in spanish.
The cockfighting scandal also includes Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr, the horse-jockey brothers who finished first and second in this year's Kentucky Derby. Other baseball players linked include Alexis Diaz, Edwin's brother, and former MLB catcher Martin Maldonado.
What is cockfighting?
Cockfighting is a bloodsport that features two gamecocks, or roosters, fighting each other in a small ring using their beaks. Often times, the roosters fight to the death to decide a winner.
Cockfighting laws in Puerto Rico
The United States first banned cockfighting in Puerto Rico in 2019, but the territory pushed back as politicians argued that the event was a tradition in Puerto Rico. While Puerto Rico brought the case to federal court, the ban was upheld in 2020, and the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case.
Is cockfighting legal in USA?
Cockfighting has been illegal in all 50 states since 2007. However, it wasn't until over a decade later when congress was able to outlaw cockfighting in U.S. territories, like Puerto Rico, as well.
What has Edwin Díaz said about cockfighting?
Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día published a story on March 10 that used a picture of Diaz squarely in the pit of the cockfighting arena. The story said that Diaz attended an event in which his family entered four roosters for fighting.
"It's a pastime I've followed since I was a child. It’s legal in Puerto Rico, thank God," Diaz said in the story, translated into English, via USA Today. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
Additionally, in 2018, a different newspaper story from Primera Hora said that Diaz owned five roosters in a San Juan cockfighting event.
"My rooster went down dead and got up to fight, doing what my roosters know how to do: finish fights," Diaz was reported saying at the time. "He did what I do when I come in to pitch in the ninth: to close out the game."
Will Major League Baseball punish Edwin Díaz?
It's unclear if MLB will get involved in this cockfighting scandal. However, the league is still likely to investigate to determine if Diaz did anything against its personal conduct policy.
Cockfighting’s place in Puerto Rican culture
Cockfighting is a big part of the culture in Latin American countries like Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It is not only an activity but also a lifestyle and, in some cases, a career.
"I'm a sixth-generation cockfighter," Puerto Rican Jose Torres told NPR in 2019 when the cockfighting ban went into place. "This is how I support my family. But I also inherited this. I was going to pass this onto my children."
Even Puerto Rican politicians defended the practice and defied the ban. Gerardo Mora, a Puerto Rican politician who helped regulate cockfighting arenas in the territory, explained to NPR the importance of the activity.
"Cockfighting is a multi-million-dollar industry," Mora said. "Breeders, trainers, veterinarians, grain distributors, medication, spurs, cages. So it's lamentable that people who don't understand Puerto Rico's idiosyncrasies would, in the name of benevolence, make unjust decisions to eliminate our national sport."
Pedro Martinez Cockfighting scandal
In 2008, Pedro Martinez was caught on camera attending a cockfighting event in the Dominican Republic with Hall-of-Famer Juan Marichal. In the video, Martinez and Marichal both released the roosters into the fight, but they didn't belong to the pitchers.
At the time, cockfighting was legal in the Dominican Republic, and Martinez claimed he did nothing wrong.
"I understand that people are upset, but that is part of our Dominican culture and is legal in the Dominican Republic," Martinez said, via ESPN. "I was invited by my idol, Juan Marichal, to attend the event as a spectator, not as a participant."
Edwin Díaz contract details
Edwin Diaz signed a three-year, $69 million contract with the Dodgers in the offseason. Thus far, Diaz has a 10.50 ERA in seven games and is set to miss months on the injured list due to an elbow injury.
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